For many years the helms of sailboats have been provided with a pedestal guard which is an inverted U-shaped structure mounted to the cockpit sole ahead of the wheel and ahead of the binacle for the compass, the purpose of which initially was to provide a grab rail for those in the vicinity of the helm, as well as to protect the compass pedestal from direct contact during sailing. In more recent years, the pedestal guard has been utilized as a support structure for such diverse items as foldable tables, and instrument platforms which are shelves mounted transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pedestal guard onto which are mounted marine instruments such as depth finders, Lorans, GPS, Fluxgate compasses, knot meters, or any other type of data display terminal. In the past, these shelves have been cantilevered from the arms of the pedestal, with pods being mounted vertically on the platform in the form of large bulbous housings for deep instruments. These housings in general have cylindrical bases, with heads which are canted upwardly.
With the microminiaturization of electronics and the provision of remote terminals in compact reduced-size slim line configurations, there is the opportunity to provide a convenient unobtrusive mounting system for such instruments. It will be appreciated that these instruments may be multi-function instruments, the function of which is controlled by buttons or switches directly on the face of the instrument.
Thus, with the type of miniaturization and consolidation of instrument functions, there is opportunity for the location of these devices within easy reach and viewing of the helmsman.
In the past, these instruments were mounted either at the bulkhead next to the companionway or were mounted on a bridge-type structure above the companionway some ten to twelve feet away from the helmsman. These types of mounting diminish the ability of the helmsman to read the instruments because of the distance.
In an effort to co-locate the instruments at the helm, bulbous pods were mounted on a shelf cantilevered from the pedestal guard at about waist height. The shelf thus provides a support for relatively large bulbous pods to either side of the pedestal guard. As will be appreciated, this type of pod mounting does not present the information at eye level, but rather down and to either side of the wheel. Thus, this instrument mounting system caused the helmsman to look down and aside in order to read the instruments.